Old Colony Mennonites

The name Old Colony Mennonites (German: Altkolonier-Mennoniten) is used to describe that part of the Russian Mennonite movement that is descended from colonists who migrated from the Chortitza Colony in modern Ukraine near Zaporizhia (itself originally of Prussian origins) to settlements in Canada. Theologically, Old Colony Mennonites are largely Conservative Mennonites.[1]

Since Chortitza was the first Mennonite settlement in Russia (now modern Ukraine), it was known as the "Old Colony". In the course of the 19th century the population of the Chortitza Colony multiplied, and daughter colonies were founded. Part of the settlement moved to Canada in the 1870s, and the Canadian community, whose church was officially known as the "Reinländer Mennoniten Gemeinde", was still informally known by the old name.[2][3] When members of the Old Colony Mennonites then moved from Canada to other places, the name was kept.

"The Old Colony Mennonites represent one of the purest survivals of the Brethren or Anabaptist wing of the Reformation";[4] and are typically more conservative than most other Russian and Ukrainian Mennonites in North America.[5]

In 1990, Old Colony Mennonite communities could be found in Mexico, Bolivia, Belize, Paraguay, Argentina, Canada, and the United States of America;[5] by 2013, the vast majority of Old Colony Mennonites lived in Mexico, where about 60% of the 100,000 Mennonites were affiliated with the Altkolonier Mennonitengemeinde[6] and Bolivia, where about 75% of 70,000 were affiliated with the Altkolonier Mennonitengemeinde.[7] A smaller group lived in Belize, where about 50% of 10,000 were affiliated with the Altkolonier Mennonitengemeinde.[8] Smaller groups of Old Colony Mennonites also lived in Paraguay, Argentina, Canada and the US.

  1. ^ Kraybill, Donald B.; Johnson-Weiner, Karen M.; Nolt, Steven M. (June 2013). The Amish. JHU Press. p. 421. ISBN 978-1-4214-0914-6.
  2. ^ "Old Colony Mennonite Church". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  3. ^ "Reinlander Mennoniten Gemeinde (Manitoba)". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  4. ^ Conkin, Paul K. (January 1, 1970). "Book Review: The Old Colony Mennonites: Dilemmas of Ethnic Life. By Calvin Wall Redekop. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1969". Journal of Church and State. 12 (1): 156–157. doi:10.1093/jcs/12.1.156. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Old Colony Mennonites". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  6. ^ Fretz, J. Winfield and H. Leonard Sawatzky. "Mexico." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2010. Web. 23 Sep 2014. [1]
  7. ^ Bender, Harold S., Martin W. Friesen, Menno Ediger, Isbrand Hiebert and Gerald Mumaw. "Bolivia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2013. Web. 23 Sep 2014. [2]
  8. ^ Gingerich, Melvin and John B. Loewen. "Belize." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2013. Web. 23 Sep 2014.[3]